Tweet In a decade derided for ghastly fashion, terrible hair, some goofy songs (Pac-Man Fever or Wham! Rap anyone?) and some questionable behavior, the decades films unfairly get lumped in with the rest of the baggy, day-glow Aqua-netted pop-culture trough. The 80’s saw the birth of some great trends, some sublime genre pics, the last explosion of the traditional Hollywood Star, some great junk, and the first and last hurrahs of many major filmmakers. There were plenty of silly films, as there always are, that served no greater purpose than to exploit the social atrocities mentioned above, but to dismiss the decade is to amputate a hand (or at least a foot and a few toes) from the body of cinema. Today is the second part of a few things that make the decade of the 80’s nothing short of rad. 14. The Horror Decade & The Rise of the Horror Franchise A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, Friday the 13th, Dead & Buried, Chopping Mall, Critters, Fright Night, Night of the Comet, Night of the Creeps, The Evil Dead, Hellraiser, Re-Animator, Childs Play, Sleepaway Camp, The Hitcher, The Funhouse, The Hidden, CHUD, Street Trash, The House on Sorority Row, Dreamscape, Fade to Black, Hell Night, Motel Hell The seed for the modern horror film and the appetite for it was planted in the 1970’s with films like Black Christmas, Bay of Blood, Last House on the Left but is was the tremendous financial success of Halloween on its baby budget that really turned heads. The hope for low-risk high-reward fueled early 80’s horror and the explosion of VHS gave it so much momentum that it is still chopping its way forward today. The output became so massive it created a practical effects demand that made make-up artists like Tom Savini, Stan Winston, Rick Baker and Greg Nicotero into household names. The success of Friday the 13th in 1980 helped give confidence to the exec producers of Halloween 2 to put the money they did into the sequel and convince Paramount that they had found a money tree with Friday. Friday Part 2 was rushed to theaters in 1981 and Halloween 2 came out later that same year. Both did well financially and forever more franchise would be in that back of most minds when dinero was put up for a...

Tweet In a decade derided for ghastly fashion, terrible hair, some goofy songs (Pac-Man Fever or Wham! Rap anyone?) and some questionable behavior, the decades films unfairly get lumped in with the rest of the baggy, day-glow Aqua-netted pop-culture trough. The 80’s saw the birth of some great trends, some sublime genre pics, the last explosion of the traditional Hollywood Star, some great junk, and the first and last hurrahs of many major filmmakers. There were plenty of silly films, as there always are, that served no greater purpose than to exploit the social atrocities mentioned above, but to dismiss the decade is to amputate a hand (or at least a foot and a few toes) from the body of cinema. Today is the first part of a few things that make the decade of the 80’s nothing short of rad. Tune in for part 2 Sunday night after your late local news. 1. DePalma’s Peak Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Scarface, Body Double, The Untouchables, Casualties of War. Brian DePalma, a generally lesser thought of member of the Beard Brigade, emerged in the 70s with colorful and inventive well-crafted fare like Phantom of the Paradise, Sisters and Obsession. Along with Carrie, his output was among the strongest and most diverse of the decade. But it was the 80s where DePalma really got a handle on things (including more money) and had his greatest success. From Dressed to Kill in 1980, through Casualties of War in 1989 he alternated between critical and box-office success, sometimes finding both. Although he continued to provide fodder for those that chose to lazily call him a hack, DePalma continued to showcase his flexibility and command of cinematic language while bringing controversial topics and themes to the mainstream. 2. Carpenter’s Peak The Fog, Escape From New York, The Thing, Christine, Starman, Big Trouble in Little China, Prince of Darkness, They Live! It’s hard to argue that any genre director has had a decade that can stand up against John Carpenter’s 1980’s output. Eight films of note is a hell of a resume in any decade. Carpenter went from independent and small films to studio pics, back to small. They cover the gamut from Sci-fi and horror, action and comedy. He combines sound, effects, music, editing and cinematography to create tons of atmosphere and complete worlds to...

Tweet In a decade derided for ghastly fashion, terrible hair, some goofy songs (Pac-Man Fever or Wham! Rap anyone?) and some questionable behavior, the decades films unfairly get lumped in with the rest of the baggy, day-glow Aqua-netted pop-culture trough. The 80’s saw the birth of some great trends, some sublime genre pics, the last explosion of the traditional Hollywood Star, some great junk, and the first and last hurrahs of...

Tweet In a decade derided for ghastly fashion, terrible hair, some goofy songs (Pac-Man Fever or Wham! Rap anyone?) and some questionable behavior, the decades films unfairly get lumped in with the rest of the baggy, day-glow Aqua-netted pop-culture trough. The 80’s saw the birth of some great trends, some sublime genre pics, the last explosion of the traditional Hollywood Star, some great junk, and the first and last hurrahs of...